Trauma is not simply an event that happened to you. It is what happens inside of us during an experience that we could neither fight nor escape from. In trauma experiences, part of us collapses and remains trapped inside of us. The feelings, meanings, and memories of these critical moments often do not fade. The need we had for protection and care in traumatic moments in the past continues into the present.

In addition, trauma experiences that are not processed well do not move to long-term storage in our brains. Instead, they stay in short-term memory and remain ever-present and active. We may not always be conscious of the explicit memory, but the implicit impact of the trauma remains active within us.

Effects of trauma can play out in our thoughts, emotions and behaviors without our active awareness it is happening. Our conscious mind tries to make sense of what is happening within us in each moment, which can lead to faulty reasoning, false narratives, and seemingly irrational fears.

Our amygdala, the threat assessor in our brain, continuously looks for cues that signal a repeat of our trauma. When it perceives a cue, the embodied memory of the trauma is activated or “triggered” within us. As a result, we can experience constant and severe episodes of hypervigilance, irritability and short-temperedness, anxiety and fear, anger or rage, physical and emotional exhaustion, and depression.

Relationships are often especially impacted, particularly if the one who hurt us was supposed to be someone we loved and trusted. Trauma can leave us unsure if the people who love us are truly trustworthy. As the effects of trauma affect us, those around us can be impacted by our unexpected mood shifts, odd fears and reactions, and confusing reasoning.

The effects of trauma can affect every part of our lives. Healing trauma can be scary and very risky. We can help you increase your strength, repair traumatized memories and emotions, and help you rewire your threat assessor to have more freedom and agency in your life.